Combine the first 5 ingredients, mixing well.Set aside 1 cup (this will be for the
topping).Press the rest of the mixture
into a 9-inch pie plate.For the
filling, place the water and cornstarch into a small saucepan and stir until
the cornstarch has dissolved.Add the
sugar and place the saucepan on the stove and bring to a boil.Cook for 1 to 2 minutes or just until mixture
begins to thicken.Remove from heat and
stir in the apples, cinnamon and vanilla.Pour this mixture into the crust and top it with the 1 cup of the
reserved crust/topping mixture.Bake at
350 for 40 to 50 minutes or until golden brown.Let it cool for about 20 minutes before serving.Add a dollop of vanilla ice cream before
serving, if desired JEnjoy!

Melt butter
in a skillet and add onions; sauté’ for 10 minutes.Add soup, milk and cheese.Next add the shrimp and cook for just 1-2
minutes.The shrimp will continue to
cook in the oven.Mix with drained pasta
and pour into a 13x9x2 greased baking dish and bake, covered, at 350 for 25
minutes.

CHEESY
GARLIC BREAD

1 loaf
French bread cut in half

1 stick
butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon
each of salt, garlic powder and black pepper

3 cloves
garlic, chopped

¼ cup grated
fresh Parmesan cheese

1 cup sharp
cheddar, grated

Mix all the
ingredients together very well and spread evenly over the French bread.Place on a baking sheet and bake at 450 for 8
to 10 minutes or until golden brown.

WHITE
CHOCOLATE BREAD PUDDING

1
Loaf French Bread

1
Quart Heavy Whipping Cream or Half-n-Half

3
Eggs

2
Cups Sugar

2
Tablespoons Vanilla Flavoring

1 Bag
White Chocolate Chips

Cut
Bread into 1” pieces and place in medium mixing bowl. Pour Whipping Cream over
bread and stir. Put in refrigerator and chill for 30 minutes. In another medium
bowl mix eggs (slightly beaten), sugar and vanilla flavoring. Pour this over
bread mixture and stir well. Stir in white chocolate chips.

Pour
into a greased 9X13x2 baking dish and bake@ 350° for 45-55 minutes or until
golden brown.

Line a tart pan or a pie pan with a piecrust and bake at 400
for 7 minutes then take out of the oven and set aside.In a large skillet, cook the spinach and
onion in the butter just until the spinach is wilted (about 4 minutes).Next sprinkle Swiss cheese on partially baked
crust, then, using a slotted spoon, spread the spinach and onion mixture over
the bottom of the piecrust.In a large
bowl, using a hand mixer, mix eggs, cheddar cheese, cream, mustard and
seasonings well and pour over spinach mixture.Place the tomato slices on top and bake at 400 for 35-40 minutes.Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.

BAKED OATMEAL

3 cups quick-cooking oats

1 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup whole milk

2 large eggs

1 stick real butter, melted

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a large bowl, mix together the first 5 ingredients.Add the remaining ingredients and stir
well.Pour into a greased 9x13 baking
dish and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.I
like to place ½ cup warm milk in a bowl and then place a square of the baked
oatmeal on top of the milk.Delicious!

TEXAS FUDGE

2 eggs

2 tablespoons flour

½ teaspoon each of salt and pepper

1/3 cup whole milk

1 small can chopped green chilies

8-ounces grated Pepper- Jack cheese

8-ounces grated sharp cheddar

Mix all ingredients together and pour into a greased 8x8
baking dish.Bake at 350 for 35
minutes.Let cool for 10 minutes before
serving.Serves 6-8.

Marie’s Thousand Island dressing (you can find it by the
bagged salad)

1 small can sauerkraut drained very well

6 slices Swiss cheese

onion, sliced thin—optional

butter

Spread a generous amount of Thousand Island on both pieces
of bread.Next add 3 to 4 slices of corned
beef, 2 tablespoons sauerkraut, onion
and 1 slice of cheese.Melt 2
tablespoons butter in a large skillet and place 2 sandwiches in the
skillet.Spread butter on the tops of
the sandwiches.Cook on medium high 2 to
3 minutes and then carefully flip the sandwiches with a spatula and cook
another 2 to 3 minutes.Cook 2 at a
time.

QUICK HOMEMADE POTATO CHIPS

2 baking potatoes scrubbed and patted dry, sliced paper-thin

Vegetable or peanut oil for frying

Salt and pepper to taste

A mandolin is a must for this recipe.You can find them at any kitchen store, and
they range from very inexpensive to expensive.I think I paid $10 for mine!Using a mandolin will allow you to slice the potatoes paper-thin….watch
out for your fingers, though!In a deep
pot, pour about 3 cups of oil into it and heat the oil to about 350.Place potatoes in a single layer (careful not
to over crowd the pot) and fry for 7 to 10 minutes or until they are golden
brown.Watch them carefully JRemove with a slotted
spoon and place on a slotted rack until slightly cooled.Salt and pepper to taste.Serves 3 to 4 people.You may want to double the recipe because
they disappear fast!I also do this with
sweet potatoes and put cinnamon and sugar on them instead of salt and pepper.

Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate 6 hours or
overnight.Makes about 12 servings.

MISSISSIPPI MUD COOKIES

1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels

½ cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 ½ cups flour

1 t. baking powder

½ t. salt

1 cup chopped pecans

½ cup milk chocolate morsels

1 cup miniature marshmallows

Microwave the semisweet chocolate in a small glass bowl on
high for 1 minute or until smooth, stirring every 25 seconds.Beat butter and sugar at medium speed with a
mixer until creamy; add eggs.Beat in
vanilla and melted chocolate.Combine
flour, baking powder and salt and gradually add to chocolate mixture, beating
until well blended.Stir in pecans and
chocolate morsels.Drop by tablespoons
onto cookie sheet.Press 4 marshmallows
into each cookie and bake at 350 for 10-13 minutes.

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

I love living in the south where we women love our football
as much as our men do!Football season
is our favorite time of year in the Friday household.We gather with friends and family, cook,
fellowship and pull for our team.These
are a few of my favorite tailgating recipes.They are simple and can all be prepared ahead of time so that you don’t
miss any of the game JEnjoy!

Place all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.Use a tablespoon to scoop out mixture to make
small patties.Place them on the grill
over high heat and grill 3 minutes on each side.If you choose to make regular-size burgers,
grill 6 minutes on each side.If you
choose to make the sliders, Sister Schubert dinner rolls are excellent with
these.Makes 10-12 slider burgers or 4-6
regular-size burgers.

Place room temperature cream cheese in a medium-size bowl
set aside.Cook sausage in a skillet
until browned and remove from the skillet with a slotted spoon and place on
paper towels to drain excess grease.Stir the drained sausage into the cream cheese and mix well.Using a teaspoon or baby spoon, stuff each
mushroom with the cream cheese mixture.Place mushrooms onto a large jelly roll pan, sprinkle with paprika and
bake at 350 for 20 minutes.Broil the
tops for 1-2 minutes (watching carefully) then remove from the oven.Transfer them to a serving dish and sprinkle
with chopped chives.These are so easy and
delicious!

RUMAKI

1 lb. bacon cut down the middle

1 can sliced water chestnuts, drained

1 carton pitted dates

1 bottle Kikkoman’s Teriyaki Baste and Glaze

Take a water chestnut and a pitted date and wrap into a
piece of bacon; secure with a toothpick and place into an 11x13 ovenproof
baking dish.Bake at 350 for 30
minutes.Remove from the oven and
carefully place into a clean 11x13 baking dish.Pour the sauce evenly over all bacon pieces and bake an additional 8
minutes at 350.Let them cool about 10
minutes before serving.Makes 25 to 30
appetizers.

PINEAPPLE-CREAM CHEESE SPREAD

2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained

¼ cup each finely chopped bell pepper, onion and green onion

1 cup chopped pecans

1 tablespoon seasoned salt

Stir cream cheese with a fork until nice and creamy then add
remaining ingredients.Form into 2 balls
about the size of a grapefruit, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate
for at least 8 hours.This is delicious
with Ritz crackers.This also freezes
well.

BANANA PUDDING CUPS

1 bag Pepperidge Farm Chessman cookies

1 large box instant vanilla pudding

3 cups cold whole milk

1 can Reddi Whip of Cool Whip

2-3 bananas sliced

Strawberries and fresh mint for garnish

6 (6-ounce) wine glasses or 12 miniature glasses

Mix the pudding and milk together and place in the fridge
for 15 minutes.Place cookies in a large
Ziplock bag, seal and crush them with a coffee cup or rolling pin.Place a few tablespoons of crushed cookies at
the bottom of each glass.Next top with
a few tablespoons of pudding and a few slices of bananas.Repeat layers and top with whipped
cream.Garnish with a strawberry and
fresh mint if desired.

S’MORE COOKIES

1 cup all-purpose flour

¾ cup graham cracker crumbs (you can find these on the
baking aisle)

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

¼ cup creamy peanut butter

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup white sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 bag large marshmallows cut in half (you will not use all
of them)

3 Hershey bars broken into squares

Mix first 4 ingredients in a bowl and set aside.Cream butter, peanut butter and sugars on
medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes.Mix in
eggs and vanilla.Mix in flour mixture
a little at a time.Scoop out dough with
a teaspoon, form into a round ball and place onto an ungreased cookie
sheet.Bake at 375 for 5 minutes.Remove from the oven and place a slice of
marshmallow onto each cookie.Bake for 5
more minutes, remove from the oven and place a Hershey square over each
marshmallow.Let cool completely.Makes about 2 dozen.

About Me

My name is Melissa, and my favorite thing to do is cook and experiment with new recipes...it's therapy for me :) I'm not a fancy cook...if I want fancy, I go to a 5-star restaurant :) My recipes are simple, I use every-day-easy ingredients and they tastes delicious! Family dinners are so important to me, and some of our best times and talks have been around the dinner table with my husband and 2 children. My purpose for this blog is to encourage and inspire you to have more time around your dinner table with your own family, while they enjoy and rave over the home-cooked meal you prepared for them! I have a cooking show called Dream Home Cooking which airs in North Alabama every Sunday morning on WAAY 31 at 9:30a.m. I also write a weekly food column for the Madison Record.